Obama: Expedite part of Keystone

CUSHING, Okla. — President Barack Obama will use Thursday's visit to Oklahoma to announce that he's ordered federal agencies to get on the horse to approve the southern part of the Keystone XL pipeline, the White House announced.

Obama will issue an executive order on federal permitting of infrastructure projects, "which will require agencies to make faster permitting and review decisions for vital infrastructure projects while protecting the health and vitality of local communities and the environment," the White House said.

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As for the Oklahoma to Gulf Coast part of Keystone, Obama will "issue a specific memorandum in Cushing directing federal agencies to expedite the Cushing Pipeline," according to the White House.

"The need for pipeline infrastructure is urgent because rising American oil production is outpacing the capacity of pipelines to deliver oil to refineries," the statement said.

On a conference call Tuesday, White House energy adviser Heather Zichal hinted that such an announcement was coming, said Cushing Mayor Evert Rossiter.

According to a rough transcript of the call obtained by POLITICO, Zichal also restated the administration's oft-spoken position that Obama will review TransCanada's application and make a determination about whether it's in the national interest once a new route is found in Nebraska.

Rossiter took Zichal's comments to be good news for pipeline supporters.

"She explained the same thing we've heard from TransCanada that as soon as the route is determined to go through Nebraska and as soon as that is all approved then he will sure sign that to get the pipeline on to Cushing," Rossiter said.

"It wasn't guaranteed, but it was," he added. "It wasn't guaranteed, but it was good news, let's put it that way."

White House spokesman Clark Stevens said the mayor has it wrong. "This report is incorrect, she in no way indicated the situation had changed, in fact she reiterated that any new permit for the Keystone XL pipeline project from Canada would need to go through the important federal assessment process, as well as meet the criteria established by Nebraska, and any decision on whether to grant a permit would be based entirely on that assessment," Stevens said in an email. "Any suggestion otherwise is wrong."

The White House has consistently said that Obama rejected the pipeline in January because Congress cut short the environmental review process and cited bipartisan opposition to the proposed route through Nebraska. Officials have left the door open for TransCanada to try again but have maintained they will not ignore environmental considerations.

This article first appeared on POLITICO Pro at 5:15 p.m. on March 21, 2012.